Counting Money The Easy Way!

As part of our problem to be solved in Math today, we needed to review our counting money skills.  

I have a three (or is it four?) step strategy that I teach kids. Sometimes we find that the biggest mistake made when it comes to counting money is that decimal. 

For your convenience, I've made a quick video that outlines the strategies taught today. It's not fancy but it does cover all the key points that were reviewed in our lesson today.

In case I didn't emphasize it enough in the video, please stress to your student that keeping the decimal in line is essential to accuracy.  

Again, the video isn't fancy, but it does cover today's lesson nicely. 

And for those kids who are extra keen and have some time on their hands tonight, here's a sample problem to work on. We call these types of problems "Bake Shop Problems" and we'll do lots and lots of them until we all feel confident in our skills!  

Bake Shop Problems (EQAO Prep-PDF)

What's the I.P.A.R?

Reposted from March, 2022

Each week, students in my class write something called the "Text of the Week" test.  We do a close reading of a different story or poem each week, and on Thursdays they write a test (I'm old school, I still call them "tests") that covers everything from word study to reading comprehension. The test follow a very similar format, making them less stressful for students, but no two are identical.  

TOTW tests been very effective in terms of gulding my literacy instruction. With each test, I know more about my students, how they are progressing and where I need to focus instruction for the following week.  The text might change, but I am still able to address the areas of need from the previous weeks, and that kind of almost instant data is invaluable.  I also like that I am able to provide weekly feedback to parents, who can use this information to help their child prepare for the tests and more importantly, target their home support accordingly. 

For some time now I have wanted to create a similar "test" for Math.  For four weeks, I'm going to try something I'm calling the I.P.A.R: Independent Practice and Review.  This won't be a test, but the expectation is that students will complete it independently so that I can better assess exactly where they are and where my instruction needs to go.  Each IPAR will have four sections:  Number Sense, Word Problems, Skill Review and Current Unit of Study. Have a look at this week's IPAR.  I may tweak it as needed, but this is the general format.  

I've explained to my students that by asking them to complete the tasks with just about no help from me, we'll be able to make the most of our time together: they'll know where they're at, skill-wise, and I'll know where we need to go. I'll read and review the page with the class, but after that, I'm setting them loose to do their thing on their own. I'm all for partner problem solving and doing "fun" math, but if a child leaves my room in June and still isn't 100% sure how to regroup when subtracting, I need to address that. 

We wrote the first one this week and it went very well. Right after students submitted it, we took it up together so there wasn't that Twilight Zone gap that happens in a child's mind between completing a task and then revisiting it. Now that students know precisely what to expect, I'm anticipating they'll see how constantly cycling back to previously covered concepts is a very effective way to build their math-muscles.  If the next four weeks are a success, I'll make this a permanent part of my Math program.  

What's a "Text of the Week" test?

On Thursdays, students are going to record: "Text of the Week (or TOTW) test tomorrow" in their agenda. Each week, the boys and girls will receive a text of some kind of text that will be our reading focus for the week. Some weeks it'll be a poem, others, a story or non-fiction article.  On most Fridays (and the occasional Thursday), they'll have their Text of the Week (TOTW) test. The texts are found in their blue "Text of the Week" duotang, and it comes home every night. Please see that your child packs it each day in their Zippy.  

To help establish expectations for test-writing, we're going to write this week's test together as a class. It'll come home for you to sign, but there will not be a score on it.  This week's text is called "Nate's First Day".  

I find the text of the week to be highly effective for two reasons: first, I can cover a number of those skills that need to be taught but don't really fit in anywhere else, such as: what's a verb and why do we use italics? The second reason I like them so much is because I can tailor the discussions and texts to meet the unique needs of my class.  If we're having trouble understanding point of view or main idea, I can find a story or article that meets this need. Or, I can do what I did this week, and write one myself. The purpose of this week's text is to talk about how we relate to stories and how we're all part of a larger community. Being a community member means we can all contribute to the greater good, as Nate did in our story this week.  When we connect to a character or situation, we can interact with a story on a higher level. Making those text-to-self connections is usually one of the first reading comprehension strategies we teach students. Nate's solution to the problem in the story also models how we can all make a difference in our community. 

In the past, I've used poems exclusively as our texts, but over the years, I've expanded the collection to include a wider variety of texts.  

I'd like to share with you here what we actually do with the text in class each day. We gather at the carpet and read the TOTW every morning. We read the poems together as a class, and for the stories, I ask for volunteers. Each day we discuss the different features of the text. By the time students write the test on Friday, we will have discussed ALL of the questions that appear on the test, so listening attentively is key.   

Let's say I'm using a poem as the TOTW, here's what our discussion might look like for the week. On Monday, after reading the poem aloud, I'll pose a variety of comprehension questions about it.  On Tuesday we might look at word study and talk about syllables, compound words and contractions. We might even review parts of speech such as nouns and verbs.  

On Wednesday, we'll look at figures of speech such as idioms and irony.  

On Thursday, we review everything we covered earlier in the week and prepare for the test on Friday. 

The tests follow a very predictable format (see picture below). After a few tests, you'll likely be able to anticipate the types of questions that will be on the TOTW test.  Students are always allowed to use the text itself to support them while they write and to help them to be accountable for their own success, they are expected to spell words from the text correctly. Tests are usually out of 10 or 12 and come home Tuesday/Wednesday for signing.  I ask that they are corrected and returned the following day.  

And that's how the TOTWs work! Students are encouraged to read their texts aloud to you, a pet, their siblings or toys as often as they can to develop their overall fluency. Our on-going goal is to make our oral reading sound like natural speech! 

This is a study guide I created back when I was using poems exclusively as my texts of the week. This document should still be helpful for parents, families and colleagues looking for extra support in helping their child/students prepare for the weekly tests. You can download your own copy here. 

 

Unit 3 Math Test: Geometry

The boys and girls are having their Unit 3 Math test on Thursday January 27th. There is a practice test below to help students prepare.  Students will bring home their workbooks on Friday January 21st to assist with preparation as well. Some pages of the booklet are blank as those concepts were addressed during online learning. We will continue to review in class leading up to the test.  

The weekly Text of the Week test will be moved to Monday January 31st as Friday January 28th is a P.A Day.   

Being able to complete all of the tasks indicated within the study guide will be the most effective way to prepare for this test.  We still have a few concepts to cover (e.g. "what's a net?") and students should aim to complete any incomplete or blank work from their workbook as the review will be helpful.  

Please do not return the Practice Test to school as it is for home-use only. 

You can find a printable copy of the test here.